Hair tongs may have caused explosion at house

An explosion which left four teenage girls severely burned may have been caused by a set of hair tongs.

Sisters Anya, 15 and Kira Evans, 14, and their friends Nadine Fardon, 14, and Kimberly Patterson, 15 were on breathing machines last night and all four are likely to spend Christmas in intensive care.

The explosion, at a house in Old Castle Road, Llanelli, is thought to have been caused by the butane canister in a set of hair curling tongs.

The four teenagers were believed to have been getting ready for a Christmas party when the blast tore through the roof, sending a thick plume of smoke and flames into the sky.

Firefighters struggled to save the adjoining houses when it spread to their roofs and forced the residents to evacuate.

One neighbour said: "We've been told the girls were using curling tongs with a gas cylinder which exploded. They were getting ready for a Christmas party and were experimenting doing up their hair."

Nicola Paskin, another neighbour, said: "The girls were seen fighting their way through smoke and flames to get out of the burning house. They looked very distressed and their clothes were blackened."

Hamish Laing, Swansea NHS Trust deputy medical director, said last night that the girls suffered burns between 29% and 41% to the face and hands, as well as breathing problems. "They have all got very severe burns ... They are likely to stay in the ITC unit for burns for some time, certainly days and possibly weeks."

All four underwent emergency surgery after being admitted to hospital on Monday and doctors will use skin grafting and artificial skin in their treatment.

Their internal organs had largely been unaffected by the fire, but all had swelling and had suffered breathing difficulties. Their burns had been treated at the scene with cold water to cool them down, Dr Laing said. "We are optimistic for them," he said. "They are all young girls and all of them were healthy before this. With the support of the burns team we are expecting them to get through this."